1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to fishing lures. More specifically, the invention relates to an artificial lure and still more specifically to one which is self-propelled through water in a fish attracting manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many fishermen, both men and women, prefer the challenge of catching fish on artificial lures to that of using live or other types of bait. The reason for this preference varies from fisherman to fisherman, but perhaps the two most common reasons given are that, to some, it is more of a challenge to catch fish by artificial means and it simplifies the effort and time required for "getting on the water". No longer is it necessary for the fisherman capture, purchase, prepare or otherwise obtain bait, transport the bait (usually in its own separate container), and handle the bait (which can be messy).
Since they are widely used under a variety of fishing conditions, artificial fishing lures (hereinafter just "lures") have evolved into a number of different styles. These include plugs, jigs, spinners, spoons, flies and others. One common trait between these lures is that they all depend upon the fisherman's skill to catch fish. This skill manifests itself in how the fisherman manipulates the presentation and retrieval of the lure to attract and catch fish. The action of the lure in the water during retrieval is imparted by a combination of factors, including, not only the forces of the water on the lure, but also the lure's shape, buoyancy, weight and the fisherman's ability to control the presentation of the lure, both initially and during retrieval. In this regard, the fisherman's skill and experience is of the upmost importance.
While artificial lures all depend in a large part on the skill of the fishermen for their effectiveness, there is an additional lure subset which is less dependent on that skill level. These lures aid the fishermen by at least partially providing for their own movement and action. The movement can be of two types. The first is self-propulsion of the lure through the water. The other merely causes the lure to move in place while not particularly being propelled. An example of the latter type includes worm-type lures where a mechanism causes the worm body to "wriggle". The former type has been seen to include numerous types of varieties on the motor driven propeller.
Natural bait, which includes healthy, injured and dying prey, is quite animated in its movements and this movement is, more often than not, in the form of a periodic quick body movement. Previous self-propelled lures, however, have failed to mimic this natural movement of gamefish prey. For example, in the propeller type of self-propelled lures, the propeller causes the lure body to be pulled or pushed through the water without animation. To the contrary, natural prey moves as a result of the movement of the prey's body. It is this propelling movement of the prey's body which has not been mimicked.
In view of the foregoing limitations of the prior art devices, as well as other disadvantages not specifically mentioned above, it should be apparent that there still exists a need for an improved self-propelled artificial fishing lure.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to fulfill that need by providing a self-propelled artificial fishing lure which more closely mimics the natural movement of prey through water.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a self-propelled artificial fishing lure in which the body of the lure is manipulated to assist in propelling the lure through water.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled artificial fishing lure having a resilient body which moves as a result of water being expelled out through an opening in the body.
A further object of this invention is to provide a self-propelled artificial fishing lure which does not rely upon external propellers to move it through the water.
Another object of this invention is to provide a self-propelled artificial fishing lure whose rate of movement is dependent upon water temperature.